(b) Dave Watson raised concerns expressed by Corstorphine that Sandy Bells had broken the rule that players graded over 1300 can only play in a higher club team on two occasions. League Secretary Callum McGilivray explained that clubs can re-registerplayers for a higher team as long as they apply for permission in writing. He had given Sandy Bells permission because he had previously given Edinburgh University permission and so felt that a precedent had been set. After considerable discussion, where there were concerns that clubs could manipulate this to gain an unfair advantage, it was decided that permission would no longer be granted automatically but, only in special circumstances at the discretion of the League Secretary. Clubs will be informed of this at the fixtures meeting.

5. Allegro League

(a) This has been completed and the winners were Pentland Hills.

(b) Martin Robinson agreed to get the trophy engraved.

(c) David Stewarthad a productive meeting with the committee of Slateford Bowling Club regarding moving the League to their premises. The charge per evening would be £35 per night (the same as Roslin) but could be less depending on bar takings. The proposed times would be 7:30 to 10 pm and there is room for 54 boards. It was agreed that a decision will be made at the AGM.
As winter is the club’s quiet time it would also be available for other meetings and events.

6. Lothians Allegro

(a) Due to increased costs for the hire of the venue it is expected to make a loss of approximately £100.

(b)There was further discussion of alternative venues, in particular Slateford Bowling Club. It has room for 54 boards, but to provide space for the arbiters entry would have to be restricted to possibly 90 players. There are also concerns about parking and catering. David Stewart will speak to the Civil Service Club regarding possible involvement, particularly with catering.(There was no event in February/March for Martin Robinson to assess suitability.)
The Quay in Musselburgh was also considered and it has the advantage of providing catering. David Stewart will visit it to assess its suitability and Martin Robinson will check on the bus service on Sunday mornings.
A third possibility would be to continue at Wester Hailes, but only in the downstairs hall, which would mean entry restricted to 90.

7. Summer Cup

There are 14 entries (15 in 2015) and first round ties are to be completed by the end of the first week in May.

8. Edinburgh Congress

(a) David Stewart reported that It had been another successful Congress with an excellent venue and catering.
The one disappointment had been the reduced entry of 170 (down 20% on 2015) which had resulted in a loss of £400-£450. He commented on the lack of lower graded juniors in the Knights event. There was no obvious reason for the drop in numbers, although its timing in regard to Easter was different from normal.

(b) The dates for next year’s Congress are 31st March – 2nd April.

9. Lothians Congress

Martin Robinson will produce and circulate a report on the Congress.

In view of the loss made, there was discussion of alternative dates and venues, including a possible move outside Edinburgh and raising the entry fee. Slateford Bowling Club is not a possible venue because of social events on Saturday evenings.
However, the biggest problem is that we still need a Congress Director to run it.
Dave Watson again offered to deal with the entries and to help with the organisation but stated that he did not feel he had the experience to take on the role of Congress Director.
Martin Robinson will email clubs regarding the need for a Director and pointing out that there is a serious prospect of the event not taking place this year.

10. Lothian Schools

(a) Dave Taylor gave a report.The numbers taking part in the second and third league meetings again increased. Although this continued the pleasing upward trend of recent years, it was noted that numbers were still well below those of some years ago. The Association is particularly hopeful of further growth at Secondary School level, which could then feed into the clubs.

At the individual championships in February the numbers and winners were:
Primary 5 and under - 26 players (21 in 2015) - Murdo McLaurin
Primary 6/7 - 38 players (27) - Dieter Connolly Sams
Secondary - 21 players (14) - Lukah Connolly Sams
The Mega Finals of the De Lancey tournament will be held in May.

(b) Dave Taylor noted the sad passing of Peter Elders and paid tribute to the work he had done in promoting chess in schools and as a member of the Edinburgh Chess Council. The committee endorsed his comments.

(c) A letter of thanks has been received from the Schools for our donation of £300 to help them purchase 25 clocks.

11. Website

David Stewart will speak to Bill Marshall regarding other people being able to update it.

12. President’s Report

In the absence of the President there was no report.

13. Treasurer’s Report

(a) The Treasurer reported that,although the losses made by all three congresses was a concern, the finances remain in a healthy position and he proposed that affiliation fees for clubs remain at the current level. Council agreed.

(b) Claims for expenses should be made to the Treasurer by the end of April.

(c) Eddie Gillespie said that while he would continue as Treasurer for another year, the Committee should be looking for a successor.

14. The AGM

(a) David Stewart will book Boroughmuir High School for the 26th May (7:30pm start) and will send clubs the relevant papers.

15. AOCB

(a) Dave Watson reported that Corstorphine would like to provide a trophy in memory of Peter Elders. The Committee welcomed this and there was some discussion of possible options including a trophy for the player with the biggest increase in their grade, but it was agreed to leave the decision to Corstorphine.

(b) Dave Watson raised the proposed name change of the Association and it was agreed that this was a matter for the AGM if the relevant motion was proposed and seconded.